The ''Bacchante'' class was a group of three iron screw
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s in service with the
Royal Navy from the late 1870s.
Design and construction
The ships were designed by
Nathaniel Barnaby in 1872, with the first two ordered from
Portsmouth Royal Dockyard
His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...
in 1872 and ''Euryalus'' from
Chatham Royal Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
in 1873. These were the last ships to be built of iron for the Royal Navy, with
teak planking. Although similar, the three ships differed in design and appearance, and thus did not technically form a single class. A fourth ship (''Highflyer'') was ordered in 1878 from Portsmouth Dockyard, but was cancelled in 1879. In 1887, like all the remaining corvettes, they were redesignated ''cruisers'' by the Royal Navy.
Ships
References
{{Bacchante class corvettes
Corvette classes
Bacchante